Page 42 of Reckless Games

I didn't reply. Words were meaningless now. Only actions mattered. I fired, my bullets tearing through the space between us, forcing Nikolai to duck and cover. Even though he was a whole forty years older than me, the man still had his agility.

Declan, Leonardo and Emir’s shots kept any reinforcements at bay, ensuring no one could come to Nikolai’s aid. With a final burst of energy, I surged forward, closing thedistance between us. Nikolai's gun clicked empty, and he threw it aside, drawing a knife from his belt.

"You’ve lost," I said coldly, aiming my gun at his head. "This ends now."

Nikolai lunged at me with the knife, but I was faster. I dodged his attack, kicking him square in the chest and making him stumble back. I raised my gun, ready to end this once and for all, when a sudden, searing pain tore through my shoulder. The force of the bullet made me stagger, a hiss escaping my lips as I clutched my wounded shoulder. Thankfully, it hadn’t lodged itself in my flesh. Rather, it had just grazed the edge, leaving a burning line of pain but not enough to incapacitate me.

I whipped my head around to find the source of the shot, and the sight that met my eyes stole the breath from my lungs.

“Angela?” I whispered, disbelief and confusion gripping me as I saw her standing at least thirty feet away, holding the gun that had just shot me. For a few heartbeats, I couldn't make sense of what I was seeing. My mind refused to process the information. It couldn't be! She couldn't... she wouldn't… It could’ve been a mistake. Her hand must’ve slipped.

She stood there with a blank face, her eyes void of any emotions or moisture that surrounded them not minutes ago. She held the gun with such confidence that it made me wonder if it was really her I was seeing. The pain in my shoulder was nothing compared to the pain that now gripped my heart. Betrayal cut deeper than any bullet ever could. My mind raced, trying to piece together what just happened.

She did not lower her gun. In fact, when I saw it clearly, it was aimed directly at me. Because I had already kicked Nikolai out of the perimeter. My breathing became ragged as the shock settled in. The love and adoration I had felt for her were now twisted with a bitter sting of betrayal. The room around us seemed to blur as my focus narrowed on her, trying to find somehint, some flicker of remorse or hesitation in her eyes. But there was nothing. Just cold, unfeeling emptiness.

"Why?" The question escaped my lips, my voice raw with hurt as I held my shoulder.

She did not say anything. Instead, her empty eyes continued nailing me. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Had everything been a lie? The nights we spent wrapped in each other’s arms, the way she looked at me with what I thought was love, the promises of a future together—all now tainted by doubt. The more I thought about it, the more I felt a chasm opening in my chest, threatening to swallow me whole.

Nikolai’s laughter echoed through the warehouse, that only added to my torment. "She was right. You were too gullible when it came to her. I just didn’t expect this much.” His words were like a blade in my chest. “You were so busy looking everywhere for the Joker, Lorenzo, you forgot to check your own house.” Nikolai smiled evilly. “Did you really think you could trust anyone in this world of ours?" He stood up proudly, making his way to her side. “What’s rule number one of the Bratva, Angela darling? Care to share it with your lover?”

“Rule number one: never trust anyone,” Angela spoke robotically, as if the phrase was programmed into her.

The anguish was unbearable. Every moment we had shared flashed before my eyes. The laughter, the tenderness, the promises whispered in the dark—all of it now felt like a cruel joke.

A second later, Declan, Emir, and Leonardo rushed to me after taking care of Nikolai’s men. I glanced around to see they were all dead as my men stood victorious. Yet I felt like I had lost.Lost everything.

“Are you fucking bullshitting me?” Emir exclaimed, watching Angela hold the gun in our direction. “This bitch—” heraised a gun in her direction, but my hand stopped him. She was mine.

Mine to destroy.

“My dear gentlemen, let me formally introduce you all to my apprentice, Angela Thompson,” Nikolai announced proudly. "She's perfect, isn’t she?”

“So it was you who took her in?” My voice was low and feral.

“I did. What can I say? She was quite the spitfire, had absolutely no fear.Suchpotential,” Nikolai looked almost entranced as he recalled. “I couldn’t just let that talent go to waste now, could I? So of course I took her in and trained her with my best men, turning her into what she is today.” He smirked before glancing in Angela’s direction and tapping her cheek with his knife. “Stand straighter!” He scolded her like a two-year-old before she obeyed like the perfect student, her eyes not wavering from mine even for a second.

“Yes, master.” She did not move the gun from our direction.

“Now, thanks to her,” Nikolai continued, “you walked right into my trap. And now, for the cherry on top. Angela, darling?” Nikolai pulled out his palm in front of Angela as I watched. Angela raised her free hand to Nikolai’s palm, the green stone flashing on her ring finger.

NO!

Before my eyes, Nikolai smirked, pulling the ring off and clutching it tight in his palm. “Thank you,” Nikolai chirped. “What happened, Martinez? Hurt?” He mocked me. “Well, I saw that coming since you clearly aren’t trained like I trained her.” He turned to face Angela once again. “Angela, darling, what is Bratva rule number two?”

“Someone always gets hurt. Make sure it’s never you.” Angela’s voice was yet again emotionless. I do not know whatconsumed me in that moment. I raised my gun, clouded by fury and betrayal, ready to shoot both of them. But just when I fired, my gun hit the silence after a weak click. I ran out of bullets.What the—

“Do it, Angela!” Nikolai’s voice exploded as Angela launched a grenade in our direction. It landed a few feet away.

“Fuck, get back!” Leonardo screamed as we ran back in the opposite direction. And just like that, the explosion ripped through the warehouse, knocking me off my feet. I felt the searing heat lick at my skin, the deafening roar of the blast filling my ears. The world around me seemed to slow down as I was thrown backward, the impact slamming me into the ground.

Pain radiated through my body as I tried to get up, my vision blurring from the intensity of the blast. I could hear the shouts and screams of my men and the chaos that ensued as they fought to regain their footing before everything went black. The last thing I saw was the image ofherface, cold and unfeeling, etched into my mind like a scar that would never heal.

***

Chapter 22

Angela

---